Neptuna Cradles

[The Great Maudu]

This question may have been covered sometime in the past but I couldn't find it. So I'll throw it out there. How many different size cradles did Neptuna make? Seems like there is frequently one popping up online that I haven't seen before. There was one just on eBay for a Penn Monofil.

[54bullseye]

The smallest I have seen had the Penn 180 in it and biggest is the 12/0. I have heard tell of a 14/0 but haven't seen any proof of them existing !! You should have bought that little monofil Mike that was a nice little cradle for a fair price !  I would love to find any paper work either catalogs or adds on Nep-Tuna stuff but haven't seen anything at all yet.    John Taylor .       two   12/0s  pictured

[thorhammer]

Never get tired of looking at those.  Nice. 

[The Great Maudu]

You should have bought that little monofil Mike that was a nice little cradle for a fair price ! 

Maybe you're right John. You're the second person who told me that. These cradles are very interesting to me because of the seemingly wide variety of reels and makers they will fit. You would think someone has the facts out there.

[Ron Jones]

A 180 cradle would be the bees knees! Of course, it would also fit the 146. Added to my bucket list.
Ron

[Penn Chronology]

The largest Neptuna I have is my International 80 model. I do not have a 12/0 version. Even though the International 80 seems like a larger reel than a Penn Senator 12/0, it is not. The plate diameter of the International 80 is actually a quarter inch smaller than an Senator 12/0. I feel it is a very rare cradle. I think I have heard of one other one, maybe not (getting old,,,, love that excuse for CRS). When I got mine, it was a new unit. I got it with a bunch of cradles that I bought years ago. Did not know what reel it was made for back then until I started trying to fit a reel. The International 80 fit perfectly and all the pre drilled and tapped holes lined right up. Then I had to fit a locking rod tip to the cradle. The job came out decent. If I were to do it today, I would use a different rod. The one I used has Allen guides and I feel they pre-date the cradle.

It is what it is...............

[Penn Chronology]

Here is a list from the Neptuna Company listing their standard sizes. This is early paper. I have seen International 20, 30 & 80 cradles and the smaller 180 which will take a 180, 100 or 146 reel. Also custom Fin-Nor installations of a number of different Fin-Nor reels. There may be others also, never say never. I seem to remember seeing a Neptuna cradle with a Coxe / Bronson game fishing reel mounted to it.

[54bullseye]

Hi Mike
I love that 80 International in the Nep-Tuna cradle !!! I have two 30 Internationals and thanks to Randy Pauly a nice 50 International in a Nep-Tuna cradle but no 20 or 80 size. When you were talking about plate sizes on the reels I got curious and pulled out the tape measure and this is what I found. The 12/0 Senator pictured above in this post in the Nep-Tuna cradle measured 5 7/8" across side plate (keep in mind I just used a small tape measure not a caliper) so not 100% accurate. The 12/0 Fin-Nor Machine industries reel in Nep-Tuna cradle above in this post measured 6"accross plate. I then measured an old Penn 80 International like the one you have and it was
5 1/2" across plate. Next I have a Fin-Nor 9/0 also in a Nep-Tuna cradle with rod that says it's an 80 IGFA size on both cradle and rod and that one measures 5 1/2" just like the 80 International !!! So my conclusion would be your 80 International and my 9/0 Fin-Nor fit same cradle other than holes are probably different I didn't check that. Here are a few pics of the 9/0 Fin-Nor in the cradle with rod.      John Taylor

[Penn Chronology]

I love that 80 International in the Nep-Tuna cradle !!! I have two 30 Internationals and thanks to Randy Pauly a nice 50 International in a Nep-Tuna cradle but no 20 or 80 size. When you were talking about plate sizes on the reels I got curious and pulled out the tape measure and this is what I found. The 12/0 Senator pictured above in this post in the Nep-Tuna cradle measured 5 7/8" across side plate (keep in mind I just used a small tape measure not a caliper) so not 100% accurate. The 12/0 Fin-Nor Machine industries reel in Nep-Tuna cradle above in this post measured 6"accross plate. I then measured an old Penn 80 International like the one you have and it was
5 1/2" across plate. Next I have a Fin-Nor 9/0 also in a Nep-Tuna cradle with rod that says it's an 80 IGFA size on both cradle and rod and that one measures 5 1/2" just like the 80 International !!! So my conclusion would be your 80 International and my 9/0 Fin-Nor fit same cradle other than holes are probably different I didn't check that. Here are a few pics of the 9/0 Fin-Nor in the cradle with rod.      John Taylor

It is sort of amazing that Neptuna made so many different size cradles. I know that Penn turned them down. The Penn CEO in those days did not like cradles reels. There were a few built as samples for Penn (wound up being stored in the Penn vault and sold at the Martha Henze Egly estate sale), but a business affiliation never happened. All those Penn cradles out there were being built and sold independently by Neptuna. They never developed a merge with a major maker, that is what they needed. I was told years ago that if you wanted to buy a Jigmaster 500 cradle direct from Neptuna, it was a $100 item. That crazy high price would have knocked them out of any normal market. IMHO

Your measuring frenzy this morning was very enlightening. Your result show that the 6 inch diameter cradle (12/0 Fin-Nor) is the largest one found so far. The fact that the 9/0 Fin-Nor and the International 80 are both 5 1/2 inch diameters is also cool. They are probably the same cradles and the hole pattern in the rig is also similar. I wonder if it matches. Both the Fin-Nor and the Int. 80 have that same five screw pattern, the spacing may be different or NOT??? Seems to me that size was made for the International 80 and the Fin-Nor just happen to fit............. I wonder

[Bill B]

Great amount of information being generated here....Considering the lack of catalogues or other papers, the information Mike and John are offering may become the only data base we have.  Thank you for sharing you're wealth of knowledge.   Bill

[54bullseye]

Bill
I am hoping that some one some day will happen on to one of these Nep-Tuna posts and say  (Hey I have a couple old Nep-Tuna catalogs I would like to share with all of you) !!!!  Wouldn't that be nice !!    John

[Penn Chronology]

Bill
I am hoping that some one some day will happen on to one of these Nep-Tuna posts and say  (Hey I have a couple old Nep-Tuna catalogs I would like to share with all of you) !!!!  Wouldn't that be nice !!    John[/quote]

VERY NICE...............<)

[54bullseye]

I found something else cool when looking at my pictures this afternoon. Both my 30 internationals and my 50 International that are mounted in the Nep-Tuna cradles have the Penn darker gold color not the lighter gold like they are with the Fin-Nor reels and the Everol fitted to them. I am posting two pics that show the obvious difference in the gold colors. That is a Penn 30 International that stands out. I didn't have pics of the other 30 or 50 but they are the same so that tells me they had Penn in mind when making that color !!!   John Taylor

I added another picture because I love the way one of my dogs "Ella" is peeking over the reels !!!

[handi2]

Do you use any of them? They look great.

Keith

[54bullseye]

Hi Kieth
I have never used any of them yet one reason the butts are made very short on them !! I mostly fish for Cod ,Haddock and Pollack so a lot of jigging and some bait fishing. Most of the Nep-Tuna's I believe were for trolling and most have gimbals so a rod belt was used for fighting the fish. I did have a friend of mine add a longer fiberglass butt on one with a jigmaster 500 then put a foam grip on it so I will try that one for bait fishing next summer !!! See what happens.  John Taylor